Was joining Derby County an easy decision?

"Just looking around the club, it's impressive and everything is ready to be in the Premier League.

"The manager ( Gary Rowett ) spoke at length about how he wants to play, and coming to work for someone like that is very appealing to me.

"The club's ambition matches mine, so it was definitely a no-brainer for me.

"He did a good job at Burton and Birmingham and is doing well here.

"Gary is very passionate about football, having played himself and had a very good career.

"Just speaking to him makes you think: 'Wow, I'd love to work with him'.

"After having conversations with him, I thought if the opportunity arose, it was definitely something I would be interested in."

How would you describe your season so far on a personal level?

"It's been hit and miss - and it's been new to me.

"The manager at Norwich (Daniel Farke) has come in with a different philosophy. It's in every day, with no days off, and British-based players aren't used to that sort of thing.

"It's 10, 12, 15 kilometres you are covering in training daily, so as a 31-year-old, that's not exactly ideal.

"But he's a great, great bloke and he's got a great philosophy in terms of what he wants to do. Hopefully, the long-term project works down there at Norwich, because it's a fantastic club and the gaffer is a fantastic guy.

"In terms of myself, it's been stop-start, a different regime and just a different style in terms of how the team is playing at the minute.

"It has been difficult but that's in the past now and I'm looking forward to getting started with Derby."

What have you made of Derby's season up to now?

"It's been really good. I think they had a slow start and even thinking back to the game against them at Carrow Road this season, I didn't think they were brilliant that day but they showed their experience and managed the game very well.

"Since then, they've just gone from strength to strength, week to week.

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How close did you come to joining Derby in the summer?

"I'm not sure how close it was but it was last-minute and didn't materialise for whatever reason.

"I was aware of the interest, so for Gary and the club to come back in was quite flattering from my point of view and something I'm grateful for.

"I can't wait to repay the faith back.

How did you rate Derby's chances of promotion this season?

"Looking at the infrastructure, the manager, the players they've got, the squad they've built, the ambition of the chairman (Mel Morris), what he's done to the club and what he wants to do, I just think it's a club you don't realise how big it is until you're actually here.

"It's a really, really top, top facility. The club is designed to be in the Premier League.

"So from that side of it, they are equipped and I think the squad they've got at the minute is equipped to be challenging strongly for promotion this year.

"As a player, you always want to be striving to play at the top and I'm no different.

"Their ambition matches mine.

Are you up for the challenge?

"What's more exciting than joining a team that's chasing promotion? There's no better time, especially at this level.

"No disrespect to Norwich, I could have stayed there and sat out my contract and maybe got paid a little bit more money.

"But they are going through a bit of a transition and they're not going to get promoted this season, and they're not going to get relegated.

"I think it was the right time to move on.

"It's something which excites me. Coming here is a new challenge to me and you can never beat a new challenge in any workplace."

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